Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Andy Skoogman, 612-919-5918
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Warns Residents About Financial Telephone Scam
October 29, 2020 (Minneapolis) - The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has received multiple reports from residents who say they’ve received telephone calls from individuals posing as HCSO staff. These callers are telling residents that there is a warrant out for their arrest because they missed a federal court appearance and are in contempt. The phone scammers tell residents that they will be arrested unless they pay a fine. The scammers often encourage residents to purchase prepaid money transfer cards, such as MoneyPak, call the scammer back, and read them the numbers on the cards.
In several reported instances, the scammers have claimed to be Lieutenant James Taylor of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. The HCSO does not have an employee by that name.
The HCSO and other law enforcement agencies will never contact individuals via phone or email to ask for any kind of payment. If individuals receive such a call, they should not provide any personal information or make any payments to the caller.
Anyone who believes they have been victimized by a scam caller should record the caller’s number, save any voicemails that may have been left by the caller, and contact their local law enforcement agency.
Individuals should not rely on caller ID or recorded messages to verify the origin of a phone call. In some cases, phone scammers are able to use technology to appear as if they are calling from a legitimate law enforcement or government agency number. Scammers have also been known to create fraudulent recorded messages that identify their number as originating from law enforcement.
If you are uncertain about the identity of a caller, hang up the phone, locate the official phone number of the agency, and call the number directly.
– HCSO–
Look for more news on
the Hennepin County Sheriff's website at http://www.hennepinsheriff.org.
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